Natural compounds, including herbal formulations can provide a healthy supplement to the daily human diet. Certain compounds are useful for proper functioning of the human body, but are not contained in appropriate quantities in the daily diets of many people. Thus, formulations made from these compounds are useful for supplementing their intake in the human diet.
Urinary tract infections are among the most common conditions causing persons to seek relief through medical care. A majority of females experience a urinary tract infection (UTI) at some point in their lives, and at least a third of all women who experience a UTI will experience recurrences during the following year. The pathogenesis of UTI is multi-factorial, and is influenced by both host factors and by the properties of the infecting uropathogens. While humans are continuously exposed to microorganisms, it is relatively uncommon that those microorganisms cause damage to their host. The outcome of the interactions between the host and the normal internal flora is dependent upon specific properties inherent in each member. Host defense mechanisms may be divided into constitutive defenses and inducible defenses. Anatomic barriers to infection are one type of constitutive defense, while an immune response to a pathogen is an inducible defense. Increased bacterial virulence appears to be necessary to overcome strong host resistance and, conversely, bacteria with minimal virulence characteristics are able to infect those who are significantly compromised.
It would be desirable to prepare a food supplement formulation which might promote generally good health and simultaneously promote host resistance to bacterial virulence.